Republican Party: Beware of the Tory Experience

February 5, 2013 at 11:45 am

Don't be a disco dad, it will destroy your party:

When dads hit the dance floor trying to be hip and trendy, everyone else cringes with embarrassment. It's the same with David Cameron's modernising push for gay marriage. A new poll of LGBT people reveals that almost two thirds flinch at his motives. They think he is pushing the policy for the politics, rather than the principle. He's trying to look hip and trendy, but he just looks fake and phoney. He's a disco dad.

... Embarrassed by seeing their leader trying to bop like a teenager, party activists are leaving in their droves. Membership has plummeted by more than half since he became leader, and over 70 per cent of remaining members believe the issue of gay marriage is tearing the party apart. But it's not just the foot soldiers who are quitting. Experienced local association chairmen have quit too. We're talking about people with years of experience who have been faithful to the Party for decades. No leader of any organisation can afford to lose people like that.

... Ultimately, [Cameron] is hoping that his disco-dad moves are a vote-winner. It's not working, according to polling which shows gay marriage could cost him 1.1million votes and up to 30 parliamentary seats. Much of that support is now going to Ukip, which has recently overtaken the Lib Dems as third most popular party. Gay marriage is a prime factor. -- Mike Judge, Head of Communications at The Christian Institute

A ComRes poll released this weekend has shown that Prime Minister David Cameron’s insistence on pushing through same-sex “marriage” will almost certainly cost him the government at the 2015 election. The poll, commissioned by the group Campaign for Marriage, has indicated just how damaging the issue has been for the Conservative party. It found that 20 per cent of Conservative Party voters agreed with the statement, “I would have considered voting Conservative at the next election but will definitely not if the Coalition Government legalises same-sex marriage”.

The numbers, while suggesting that a small majority of party voters support same-sex “marriage,” also show that the party has lost enough support that it will be impossible to win the next general election.

The marriage bill, described by the government as a “small change” and by [gay] activists as “sweeping,” was introduced Friday the 25th with a first vote in the House of Commons set for tomorrow.